High School Shooting in California: Hero Teacher Talked Down Suspect

A hero teacher prevented a bloodbath this morning when he talked down a shotgun-wielding student — who had already plugged one victim and had 20 rounds of ammo in his pockets.

According to a press conference just held by the local sheriff and police chief, the 16-year-old gunman walked into Taft High School in Central California around 9 a.m. with at least two victims in mind.

He entered a classroom in the school’s science building, shot one student — a 16-year-old boy, in the upper right chest — then “named” and attempted to shoot another student but missed.

Via BakersfieldNow.

That’s when the hero teacher — who suffered a minor pellet wound to the head — talked down the shooter with the help of the school’s “campus supervisor.”

Meanwhile, authorities were responding to a 911 call by witnesses who saw the suspect entering the school with a shotgun. SWAT teams arrived, and the suspect was in custody around 9:30.

A medivac helicopter and three ambulances responded, reports KGET. One victim was airlifted and another refused treatment.

Tweets named the teacher as “Mr. Heber” (corresponding to a listing of science teacher Ryan Heber on the school’s website), the student victim as Bowe Cleveland, and the campus supervisor as Kim Fields.

In the wake of Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Massacre, many — including the NRA — have suggested the answer is more armed guards at schools. According to the school’s security policy, it keeps an armed, uniformed sheriff’s deputy and two campus supervisors on duty before, during and after school.

Taft High School, located in Kern County, about 120 miles north of L.A., has 935 students and 64 faculty members, according to the California Department of Education. Taft High was featured in the 1986 movie The Best of Times with Kurt Russell and Robin Williams.